Hi Guys!

I'll be as quick as I can on this:

Little introduction, thou:
A few minutes ago I was getting out of the shower and was putting my Clean&Clear astrigent (which someone here recomended and so I use it 3 times a day on my KP areas. I started that, again, 3 days ago), and I was looking at the "rest" of my skin (non-kp skin) and started to think (thinking is always a good thing!): "How the hell I have kp on my legs, buttocks, belly (started a few months ago), on my entire arms and I don't have anywhere else? If it's genetic because my skin can't exfoliate on its own, so how come all the other parts of my body are perfect? And, hummm, I only have kp where my skin is either alligator dry or dry...hummm"

So, yeah, that kept me thinking while I was doing my coffee and I thought I would post this and see if I could start a very nice thread about this issue.

I only have KP where my skin is extremely dry or just dry. Everywhere else I don't even need (or have never even put) moisturizer.

I have, what I should call "invisible kp" on my jaw line, because I can tell the skin has incredibly little bumps, but not red. But that's because I always where SPF on my face and that has a little bit of oil/moisturizer in it (which btw gives me zits!). So I only consider it kp to write in here. I don't even consider kp to myself. I really don't. I have to actually "want" to have kp there to say I have there because it's ridiculously out of sight. No one can see it. BUT my skin in my jaw line IS dry, but I where SPF all the freaking time ( since 17. I'm 24 now), so I guess that's why I "don't have it" there.

I also have dandruff, which I think is the OPPOSITE of kp (it's sheding, when the kp has a "problem" doing it, as doctors say).

I read a thread where everybody said their skin is dry to extremely dry where kp is.

So,( Oh-My-God-Let-Me-Be-Right) it CANNOT be genetic.

It's only where our skin is DRY, that's all! (doesn't this "that's all" sounded soooo nice? )

Guys, I REALLY want to believe in what I'm writing in this thread.

Who can back me up on that? Who here could buy this? Who here think that it does make sense?

I need to be honest with you all: I don't hydrate my dry/kp skin properly or frequently.

You know, it's a drag to moisturize 3 times a day (which is what dermatologist say that's how often dry/extremely dry skin people should moisturize) and the moisturizers are always sticky and it's a lot of effort to take your entire clothe off, put the lotion, spread it evenly, put on your clothes, feel it all sticking to your clothes, or go to sleep and feling it all "grabbing" your bed sheets, etc.

IT'S A DRAG TO MOISTURIZE, MUCH LESS 3 FREAKING TIMES A DAY!!!

I've heard some people here getting kp-free and when I check it, there's ALWAYS a moisturizer in the treatment. All those people that say they got their babies kp-free (because moms usually don't like to put acids on their children, thank god!) by only putting lotions, oils (I'm not mentioning the names of the lotions because that's not what this is about and I would also sound like I'm trying to sell something!), etc etc etc

What about those people?

And, I have to say: When I put Salycilic Acid, I'm actually DRYING my skin (at least as an astrigent, like the one I use).

So, what so you guys have to say about that?

Do you guys think that the trick is to ONLY moisturize (but to the absurdity of 3 times a day), or moisturize and use an AHA cream to speed the exfoliation (to slough away the dead skin cells, although that would be going, I guess, against everything I've just written, but I'll let you guys decide on that ),...

What's your opinion on that?

Let's talk about this a little bit. Ask each other things that could validate this theory and see if this is the deal with kp or if this is NOT the reason for our KP, you know, start a "eliminating" process on possible causes here.

Thank you so much for hearing me out.

I really hope I'm right about this, because, then, it will be a simple solution!!!!!

EDITED: About the redness, if I had to add something about it, I would say it's because we have sensitive skin, and so I think we should use a anti-inflamatory/anti-redness cream, which I WON't say names because I don't want to sound like someone who wants to sell products. But you can check some out at the mag scans I put at another thread.

I think that you definately have a point that dry skin is a major part of KP. Personally my legs and back of my upper arms are the worst and never seem to absorb the lotion I put on them. It just seems to sit on top and dry up again. So if the lotion never gets absorbed then maybe I have to get the nutrients from the lotion and take them internally somehow. Also im a black male so instead of redness my bumps are brown/dark brown. SO I think in black people I think its no so much irritation as it is a melanin build up.

I dunno, I just know theres gotta be a way to get rid of such a depressing condition

I don't mean to destroy your little theory, but it IS heriditary.

I believe the reason we have KP on certain areas and not others is because there are more hair follicles in those areas so the keratin gets built up there.

There is no proof that it IS hereditary. If they estimate that 40 to 50 percent of people have KP at some time in their life, then it may appear hereditary even if it is not. Also, if it is hereditary, why do some people have it and it goes away for good, but others do not? Genetics may make us more prone to skin conditions/disorders but I do not think KP is for sure hereditary or caused by strictly hormones for that matter either.

I find your thread very interesting! My personal experience is that when i stopped drying agents, exfoliating and really paying attention to the KP on my arms, and started using only using a specific oil, my KP improved amazingly on my entire body.

Lets keep this post going!

Why don't you think it's heriditary?
My dad has KP and so do I, as well as my sister. My other sister and two brothers don't.

It's in our gene ...

Dry skin can be hereditary, just as KP can be (my mom has both, as do I, and we can trace our "skin" back to my grandmother).

That doesn't mean, however, that you aren't correct in saying that KP and dry skin go hand in hand - perhaps KP is exacerbated by dry skin (I am pretty sure mine is).

Peace!

Namaste,
GreenBean

So what? Is fatness hereditary just because you and your mom and dad and one brother are fat even though your sister and other 2 brothers are not? Or is it because you eat junk all the time and never work out? I am obviously not talking about you directly!!! But, when scientific data says between 40 and 50 percent have some form of KP, that could be half of your family but does not then mean that it must be hereditary. One set of facts does not necessarily equal a specific end result. There are a number of health issues that run in families that people would like to blame on genetics- but the truth is, it has more to do with our lifestyle choices than anything else.

I am not saying that it is not hereditary! I am just saying that we cannot be positive just based on "me, my mom and my grandma all have it." I only say this because I know people that have KP but NO ONE esle in their family, including grandparents and aunts/uncles children and grand children have KP. There is also a poster on here that has KP, and both of her adopted children from another country developed it as well! Well, they did some internal cleanses or something ( sorry, it was not an option for me at the time so I will go back later and review!) and the KP was cleared for every one of them.

Just saying, we do not know for sure one way or another so do not discount the original poster's "little theory" (as you called it) as it has many valid ideas.

Well, according to recent research, obesity is also genetic. Notice how some people can eat and eat and eat and still be slim while others get fat very easily?

It's all in our genes ... but I'm not trying to be negative or anything ...

TSO-- A skin condition can be hereditary but only be expressed in certain areas of the skin--freckles, for example, and that weird pigment issue that Michael Jackson supposedly has that turned him into a white guy ;-)

My theory is that KP can be caused by a slew of different things, this is why there isn't a single treatment that works for every single person. KP is just a symptom of something greater. Maybe it's our skin reacting to higher levels of air pollution or to unhealthy food or a missing nutrient or stress or...? No one knows. Gene expression can be regulated by hormones, by certain vitamins, and by other things we get when we eat different foods...trace elements and minerals, pesticides, growth hormones, "other". The food content category ties in with food allergy and that whole loop. So it could be hereditary, dietary, hormonal, and environmental!

I think flushedface is on the right track that

Something is causing the KP and there is a reason why some people have it and others don't. I believe it will be very difficult to pinpoint until researchers know more about why it happens. If it was strictly an exfoliation or dry skin issue then it seems like the solution would be simple. Unfortunately it is not simple and it falls in with the many many skin disorders that are not 100% treatable.

Eczema and rosacea, for example, could be caused and treated a multitude of ways but I don't think there is a cure for either one. Time, patience, and management. My son (a toddler) had infant eczema and I had to manage it, avoiding steroid creams as much as possible, and hope he would "grow out of it" or that I could pinpoint the cause. He seems to be growing out of it but that makes him one of the lucky ones.

You don't cure KP, you manage it. You manage it mentally, you manage it physically, you manage it nutritionally. What works for some doesn't work for others. We all know that picking exacerbates the KP.

I'm glad we have this forum; it gives TONS of perspective, ideas, and support. Eventually, I hope it give everyone a good, if unique, way to manage their KP.

Your theory doesn't make a lot of since to me since it seems you ruled out heredity based on the fact that your skin is dry. Isn't dry skin genetic?

Incidentally, has anyone considered that even though your mom or grandma or whoever doesn't have KP right now, that they might have had it in their childhood or teen years, before it had a name? Lots of people seem to get it for a period in their life which may not be right now. My aunt didn't get it until menopause. My sister had it in puberty, but I didn't get it until pregnancy. So if you have it and your sister doesn't, it doesn't mean she never will...
Just a thought.

Also, I cleared it up in my daughter with just a change in her wash (I went mineral oil free). A few weeks later I added an aromatherapy oil to her bath(only on hyper nights, not every night, about once a week or less) which didn't bring back the condition. I also started using a mineral oil free sunscreen on her. She's clear without moisturizing at all.
I, however, moisturize twice a day only, and am KP free (mostly, it creeps back if I don't use my regimen for a few days in a row)!!! WOOHOO!!! But, I wouldn't be if I had to moisturize 3 times a day, I agree, that's too much work!

If your lotion has mineral oil in it, it probably won't absorb, because the molecules are too large to be absorbed by your skin. It just sits on top of it, trapping in whatever toxins your skin is trying to sweat out the pores. It actually can make your skin drier by "tricking" the sebaceous glands into thinking they can cut back since you're so moist already. They cut down production of natural oils and BOOM!! your skin is even drier than when you started. It really made my KP bad to use baby oil. Plus, (please don't be offended by this) I've noticed that many black people who are ashen seem to think Vaseline is the best stuff on earth (One woman threatened me with bodily harm if I said anything negative about "her jelly!"). Have you ever wondered, "Why do they have to keep applying it all the time?" It's the same as with the mineral oil, it just sits there, making you drier. They're both derived from crude oil...

There are known genetic issues that cause people to be obese...one in particular I saw on tv about children who have no "satiety". Whatever part of their digestive system that is supposed to signal that they're full doesn't work. The parents, concerned for their constantly hungry kids, just keep giving the food until the kids are waaaaaaaay overweight. It's actually very sad, the treatment is a sensible diet, lots of exercise, and keeping the kids minds on something else so they don't think about how they are constantly hungry.

Okay, then there are the fatties who gorge themselves, there are the overeaters who are skinny-Minnies, there are the people who eat sensibly yet still have some pudge. It's a mix of genetics, metabolism (which is part genetics and part normal physiological response to activity level and is not fully understood either).

It's more than just genetics here, folks. Unfortunately, I think the American mentality is to shirk responsibility so if we can blame genetics then that takes away personal responsibility.

Whether KP is genetic or not will not help us understand how we can manage it on an individual level. It is quite possibly that some KP may be caused by a parasite or other skin microorganism...but probably not all KP or it would all be 100% curable if the microorganism was eliminated. It is frustrating to try to figure out what causes the KP, we should work on figuring out how best to manage the KP.

What if finding a cause leads us to finding a cure?

Allison: That would be wonderful. Realistically it will be many years before that happens. Do I sound cynical?

I just don't get what the value is in attempting to theorize what might be going on. The best proposals I've seen on this site are the attempts to trend KP by age, manifestation of KP (as it seems it can be mild to severe, bumpy, red or not red), skin type...etc.

It would be great if someone had the time to develop some sort of profile that people could fill out. Then if someone could trend the results...these types of epidemiological studies can provide a lot of insight and guidance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology

But face facts: KP is not life-threatening and there aren't a lot of reserach dollars available to investigate a non life-threatening or potentially highly profitable area.

Many people have success by moisturizing and exfoliating. Those 40-50% stats...they probably include ANY level of